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Old Town's controversial "entertainment district" will likely live on past its slated termination this month, but not precisely as Mayor Charlie Hales envisioned.

The mayor is going back to the drawing board revision table on his proposal to extend the neighborhood's weekend street closures after concerns from Old Town residents and business owners—and questions from colleagues—at a city council hearing yesterday.

He’ll bring an amended version of the proposal back before council next week.

Just what alterations Hales will make aren't clear (I have a message into his office) but it's unlikely they'll be substantive enough to assuage concerned bar and restaurant owners, who argue the closures are hampering their businesses.

The issues aired at yesterday's hearing were substantially the same ones Hales’ heard at a “town hall”-style meeting on May 7. And, as at the earlier hearing, much of the public testimony was critical of the program.

"Barricades create the perception of a war zone," said Dan Lenzen, a principle at Concept Entertainment, which owns the Dixie Tavern at NW Couch and 3rd. Lenzen, like owners at several other Old Town restaurants, says the street closures intimidate potential customers who might be confused by street barricades or unwilling to park blocks away.

"Before you extend the closure, consider the majority of the community opposes the street closure as it is," said Anne Naito Campbell, a board member of the Bill Naito Company, which owns property in Old Town.

Naito Campbell's testimony sparked more reaction among council members than the rest, and ran contrary to the mayor's ordinance. The proposal says the "general consensus of feedback" showed "the majority of stakeholders are in favor of continuing the experiment with new ideas to improve the quality of life in the Oldtown/Chinatown Neighborhood, both in and around the entertainment district."

Naito Campbell asked commissioners to consider a shorter extension—two months rather than six—to allow neighborhood folks to put together an alternate proposal to fix what police say was an untenable situation around Old Town's night clubs.

That idea had traction with Commissioner Nick Fish, who noted: "I want to ponder some of the testimony we’ve had today about a shorter window."

Commissioner Amanda Fritz, too, had questions about the plan. " I would feel more comfortable supporting this if I have more understanding from the mayor's office and from the Office of Neighborhood Involvement what this looks like," she said.

The debate has also given voice to people who believe Old Town is overrun with bars and nightclubs, and that the businesses are a nuisance. These include residents and social services agencies like Central City Concern, which fears its Old Town residents, many of them in recovery, are being confronted with debauchery on a weekly basis.

“The 'entertainment district,' in my opinion, is a euphemism,” one property owner told council. “It’s the 'get-messed-up district.'”

The continuation of program, of course, is contingent upon funding. Hales has suggested establishing an assessment zone, where Old Town occupants would kick in to pay for the closures and any improvements. But it seems the mayor will see push back on that front.

The city has also discussed extending parking meter hours to 10 pm in the area, which the Portland Bureau of Transportation says could cover closure costs.

"Parking is definitely a potential revenue source, but I think we need to dig a little deeper," said Sara Schooley, PBOT's parking policy coordinator.